(ANS - Rome) - On May 9, 1876, Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, Don Bosco’s plan to form a lay branch of people committed to the education and salvation of the neediest young people received the seal of Pope Pius IX. This year, therefore, marks the 140th anniversary of the Association of Salesian Cooperators, the third group of the Salesian Family, which has over 30,000 members in about 1,400 local centres in 11 regions.
The book by Fr Pietro Braido, SDB, and edited by Fr Francesco Casella, SDB, outlines a spiritual and pedagogical itinerary whose focal point is Don Bosco, not the activity of Don Bosco, but his being: the priest of the young and founder of institutes of consecrated men and women, apostles of youth.
A photograph from 1929, the year of the beatification of Don Bosco. The photo shows a sketch of a huge painting and appears as a single image: Don Bosco, Mary and Jesus with the Angel. This painting is located at the top of the Dome of the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin. It shows Don Bosco with Mary Help of Christians, taking her hand and receiving from her roses which he then distributes. Historians do not know the date when it was painted on the dome nor the precise meaning of this painting, but the image remains attractive, with Don Bosco’s hand resting on Our Lady, the eyes with which she looks at the saint, and the serene face of Don Bosco as he receives and distributes the roses.
(ANS - Panama City) - A relic of the patron of youth, S. John Bosco, arrived in Panama City on the morning of Saturday 16 April. Immediately, right from the airport of Tocumen, Don Bosco was welcomed by a long procession of hundreds of faithful, led by the Metropolitan Archbishop José Domingo Ulloa.
(ANS - Hong Kong) - On the day when the universal Church was celebrating its most important feast, the Resurrection of the Lord, the Salesian Family in Hong Kong had an additional reason to rejoice: the arrival at the Salesian parish of Mary Help of Christians in Tang King Po, of a casket containing a relic of Don Bosco.
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
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Italy – A Salesian on the front line of the war in Ukraine: "Being close counts, words come later"(ANS - Rome) - As he tells with a gentleness that does not seem to come from horror, he is "resting a little bit" in Rome these days. Fr Oleh Ladnyuk is a Ukrainian Salesian priest who is a military chaplain at the front, among the soldiers who fight in defence of their country and among the civilians who for over two years have seen their lives wiped out. He brings humanitarian aid where the missiles fall and from those places he helps with the evacuation of young people and adults - so far at least 500 people, but there are probably many more. These days the Salesian – who carries out his ministry in Dnipro and teaches History in a state school in the city – is in Rome to take part with two other priests and a dozen lay people from his country in the "Accompanying when Trauma Hits" course hosted by the Pontifical Salesian University in collaboration with the Faculty of Educational Sciences, with the DON BOSCO NEL MONDO Foundation and the Don Bosco Network. A project that aims to provide theoretical and methodological tools to deal with the traumas caused by war.
EDITORIAL
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Myanmar – Tragedy of Innocent Children in the midst of Armed Conflicts(ANS – Naypyidaw) - Myanmar finds itself immersed in profound grief and anguish as innocent lives, particularly those of children, continue to be mercilessly lost in the enduring armed conflicts. Families are left devastated by the tragic loss of their loved ones while the relentless violence shows no signs of abating. This week, a heartfelt plea from Myanmar reached our community, shedding light on the heart-wrenching death of a young girl Juliet in a military airstrike, prompting a unified call for prayers and action.
EVENTS
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Italy – "Education and culture of safeguarding in sport. Towards the establishment of protection and prevention models": PGS conference with UPS(ANS – Rome) – The synergy between the Salesian Youth Sports Centres (PGS) and the Pontifical Salesian University (UPS) in Rome gave rise to the conference on "Education and culture of safeguarding in sport. Towards the establishment of models of protection and prevention", which will take place on 13 April, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., at the UPS facilities in Rome.
SPECIAL REPORTS
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Latin America – Strengthening Vocational and Educational Commitment Today: 30 Years of the Salesian School in Latin America(ANS) – Since the first meeting in Cumbayá (Ecuador), 30 years ago, educational processes on the continent have found a collaborative epicentre which has given rise to the Salesian School in (Latin) America – ESA, in Spanish – as a forum for reflection and a common path. Many Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA) and other groups of the Salesian Family (SF) have enriched this synodal journey, focusing on young people and their integral development. What are today's demands of us in the educational field? How are we building the Salesian School of the future? Can we further strengthen this great Salesian educational network in America? Some FMAs and Salesians who were at the first meeting in 1994, share their experience and their vision of how this journey has allowed a growth in the understanding of the youth reality, in the strategic decisions within the Provinces themselves and in the challenges that emerge for Salesian education.
MESSAGES OF THE RECTOR MAJOR
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I’M A SALESIAN AND I’M A BOROROTHE MESSAGE OF THE RECTOR MAJOR, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, SDB
Diary of a Happy and Blessed Missionary Day
Dear friends , I’m writing to you from Meruri in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. I write this greeting almost as if it were a journalistic report, because it has been only 24 hours since I arrived in the middle of this Brazilian state.